Israel flouts international law with forced Gaza evacuations

Israeli army issued what the UN described as IO mandatory evacuation orders, covering large areas across Gaza; Hamas says truce talks with mediators stepping up

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The UN Human Rights Office accused Israel on Friday of violating international law by forcibly displacing Palestinians in Gaza under “mandatory evacuation orders”.

The Israeli army has issued what the UN described as 10 mandatory evacuation orders covering large areas across Gaza, since resumed its war against Hamas on March 18, ending a two-month-old ceasefire amid rows over terms for extending it.

“These evacuations fail to comply with the requirements of international humanitarian law,” UN human rights spokesperson Thameem Al-Kheetan said in a statement on Friday.

Israel’s permanent mission to Geneva told Reuters that it was operating in accordance with international humanitarian law.

“Israel is evacuating civilians to protect them from Hamas terrorists, who relentlessly use them as human shields,” it said in a statement. It also accused Hamas of dragging on the war by refusing to release the remaining hostages held in Gaza.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence minister have been indicted alongside Hamas leaders by the International Criminal Court in The Hague on war crimes charges, which Israel rejects.